How We Make Gin
Manly Spirits Co. Distillery Gin range is distilled, bottled and labelled before being sent out into the world from our artisan distillery on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
Striving for only the highest possible quality, but also driven to deliver expressions that capture the diversity of Australian botanicals, our team explores above and below the ocean surface to find that something special.
Our distillery has two gorgeous Holsten stills dedicated to the production of our white spirits range. During production our stills, Bella and Jordan, are meticulously monitored by our Distillers for key timings. We choose not to use automatic cuts but rely on the well-tuned noses of our craftsman to ensure we extract as much flavour as possible from our botanicals while maintaining the balance of a pure, clean spirit.
Inspired by coastal living and sunrise swims through the crystal-clear waters of Manly’s famed marine sanctuary, our exquisite Gins are crafted using a carefully-considered blend of sustainably foraged marine botanicals, Australian native and more traditional gin botanicals, balanced neatly with the highest quality Australian grain spirit.
FINGER LIME
Finger Lime is a rainforest fruit grown in the hinterland of the northern rivers of NSW & QLD. The lime crystals are packed with a highly concentrated lime flavour that explodes in your mouth.
SEA FIG
If you’ve ever wandered around the dunes by our beautiful Australian beaches, you’ll know these beautiful, bright purple flowers well. They can be found scattered amongst the karkalla succulents that grow on coastal dunes. Sea fig flowers taste a little bit like salty strawberries, and give a very subtle sweet, salty taste to our Lilly Pilly Pink Gin.
WATTLESEED
Wattleseed brings a distinct nutty, coffee and roasted character to our spirits, which really emulates the uniqueness of the Australian bush.
SEA LETTUCE
Sea Lettuce is an algae that grows on rock shelves, which makes it an incredibly dangerous botanical to forage (our team have the scars to prove it!). We only collect what we need, and a little bit goes a long way as it's important to balance the beautiful umami, oceanic character that sea lettuce brings to our spirits.
LILLY PILLY/RIBERRY
Lilly Pilly is a type of Riberry, which is a popular berry that grows on hedges around NSW, and brings a tart, cranberry like flavour to our Lilly Pilly Pink Gin.
SEA PARSLEY
Sea parsley can be found growing around the sea cliffs by the beach, particularly around Whale Beach (if you’re on the Northern Beaches of Sydney). As you can imagine, sea parsley has a slight saltiness to its flavour profile from the sea spray and incoming tides, combined with a fresh continental parsley character.
LEMON MYRTLE
Lemon myrtle has a fresh aroma of citrus and a delicate menthol and eucalyptus essence, with a sweet and refreshing lemon flavour.
JUNIPER
If you’ve ever tried juniper berries, it’s likely that you instantly thought of gin. Juniper is what makes a gin, a gin. It’s the strong piney notes that really shine when distilled, giving gin that beautifully unique ‘gin’ characteristic.
CORIANDER SEED
Coriander seeds bring a beautiful lemony citrus flavour to our traditional gin botanical base.
CARDAMOM
Green cardamom seeds bring a slightly sweet pine character to our traditional gin botanical base.
ANGELICA
Angelica root is one of the traditional gin botanicals, and has a slightly bitter, herbal and earthy flavour.
MOUNTAIN PEPPER LEAF
Mountain pepper leaf grows naturally in the forest and the cool climate of southern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Milder than the Mountain Pepperberry, but the overall flavour is still very earthy and peppery, due to the high polygonal properties and has a spicy, cinnamon-like taste.
ORANGE PEEL
Orange peel is one of the real heroes in our Australian Dry Gin, bringing a bright & fresh citrus characteristic balanced with the marine, juniper and peppery notes.
ANISE MYRTLE
A sub-tropical Australian native tree traditionally found in the rainforests of Northern NSW. Slightly sweet liquorice profile on the front palate, which builds and lingers on the back palate to a refreshing, earthy menthol profile similar to star anise.
ROSELLA
Rosella flowers have a tart flavour with a raspberry and rhubarb quality.
At Manly Spirits Co. we have a range of gins to suit all tastes. Choose from our London dry/Australian dry, citrus, pink and barrel aged styles; all inspired by coastal living and sunrise swims and created in our artisan distillery on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
What is Gin?
Originally distilled by European monks for medicinal reasons, gin has evolved to become one of the most coveted spirits among distillers and drinkers alike. A balanced blend of juniper berries and botanicals, our Australian craft gin is made with local marine and foraged botanicals that rivals the best in the world.
What is the best way to drink gin?
Our award-winning Australian Dry Gin is made for versatile drinking and is equally suited to sipping as it is incorporated into your favourite gin cocktail. Perfect with food or as an aperitif, we recommend watching the sunset over water with a gin martini in hand.
What makes Manly Spirits Gin different?
Manly Spirits Co. understands and appreciates how botanicals can emit different flavours within our gins, which is why we actively create different types of gin to suit different tastes. Our exquisite gins are crafted using a carefully-considered blend of sustainably foraged marine botanicals, Australian native and more traditional gin botanicals, balanced neatly with the highest quality Australian grain spirit.
Alongside our traditional London Dry style gin, we have crafted a Coastal Gin bursting with citrus notes, a Pink Gin made with Lilly Pilly, a Barrel Aged Gin and an Amber Spiced Gin, ensuring we have a gin to suit any palette or cocktail recipe.
GIN SCHOOL
Behind the scenes
To dive deeper into the world of gin, why not join us at our distillery, giving you the chance to see where our gins are made and understand exactly what goes into crafting what’s in your glass. You’ll then have in-depth tasting experience for the chance to sit, sip and compare with your new-found knowledge.
